All of the above is free. There aren’t any application costs or rules.

We want Scalarama to be as open and accessible as possible, so everyone and anyone is invited.

All we ask is you make it special / make an effort / take a risk / adventurous programming / make an event out of it etc…

1. Meet up with a regional group

Around the UK, Scalarama encourages each major city or region to
group together and meet up. This is a great way to meet other
exhibitors, chat and discuss ideas or possible collaborations. For
Scalarama, it’s useful to make sure different events don’t clash dates,
and there is also a budget for flyers, so regional groups can produce
their own regional flyers – like these from last year…

Groups can be contacted via the Scalarama Google Groups which we encourage all those interested in putting events on to join.

Or if there isn’t a group near you, why not start your own? Drop the Scalarama team a line
and they’ll help connect you with other exhibitors to organise a meetup
or put you in touch with your local BFI Film Audience Network Hub for
more information.

2. Check out the core themes and open programme

The Core Themes is a range of ideas and film titles that form the
focus of this year’s season, to help audiences understand what sort of
films the season is about, and to work with distributors to promote
certain titles in exchange for reduced rates. All these core themes
will be written about in the Scalarama newspaper and online.

The majority of the season is formed from the open programme where
the choice is completely up to the exhibitors. The Scalarama team work
with a range of distributors to help reduced terms for screenings in
September as part of Scalarama. There will be less marketing and
promotion of these titles, but this is still a great option to screen a
title without the financial risk.

Alternatively, you can put on any other film. This is how Scalarama
started, with everyone showing what they wanted, and we still want to
see a wide range of films included in the season, so if you’ve already
programmed something that you think is going to work under this remit,
feel free to submit that as well. We have put together some FAQs to help
you with your programming. (see below)

3. Come up with your event

Scalarama is about celebrating and championing cinema, in all its
forms. It doesn’t matter what venue you’re screening in, what’s
important is creating a great event. Cinema is not just about putting a
film on and selling tickets – it’s about everything that goes into
making the screening: the audience, the venue, the programming and the
extras like introductions, guest speakers, shorts, trailers, handouts,
Q&A’s, discussions, music and decoration to name just a few
elements. So for September, make an extra effort, whether that’s
programming a riskier title, or adding some extra value to the event.
We’re not saying every screening should be a party – if you’re showing a
classic title, why not try and get a writer who’s written about the
film your showing to come and introduce it?

If you want to show Back to the Future or the latest Hollywood
Blockbuster then that’s fine too, but make sure you create an event out
of it. They’ll have already been screened lots of times, so why should
someone come to your event to watch it?

If you want to take part, but haven’t put on a screening before and
don’t know how to go about it, check out our “I Want to Be a Cinema”
page for more information.

And if you’re struggling for inspiration – check out all these ‘Declarations’
from 36 different exhibitors about who they are and why they put on
film screenings – this was something we did as part of Scala Beyond in
2012. We’re doing similar this year with our ‘Vote Cinema’ campaign.

4. Book your film

For any title in the core themes or open programme, use the contact
details displayed by each title to book your chosen film with the
distributor as normal. For further help with rights clearances, check
out the I Want to Be a Cinema section.

5. Submit listing

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to put on or include in the
season, just complete the submission form on this Scalarama website. If
you already have an account with ScreeningFilm.com you can use those
details to log in. If you don’t, simply register on the Scalarama
website and then follow the process and then submit your event. You can
save and edit your event at any time

The website will be open for submissions all the way through the
season, but to be guaranteed to be featured in the Scalarama newspaper
you must submit your event online by 13th July. This is also the date
when all events submitted so far to Scalarama 2015 will be displayed on
the website’s map and listings directory on ScreeningFilm.com

6. Market your event

Tell everyone about the film and your organisation.

The Open Themes and Core Programme titles are there to benefit both
exhibitors and distributors in a you scratch my back and I’ll scratch
yours kind of way! For the Distributors, they hope to get lots of
people seeing and talking about their films, which is why they’re
letting everyone screen them for reduced rates. If there isn’t much
press, marketing or social media about the films, then they’ll be less
likely to offer films next year, so do make sure to mention the
distributors and film and encourage all your audiences to talk about
them too.

As we’ve said before, there aren’t any rules or contracts – you don’t
have to promote the titles, or use the Scalarama branding if you don’t
want to.

From the 13th July, the website will list all the hundreds of
screenings and events taking place all over the country. Users will be
able to filter results so that they can see what’s happening in their
area, or select the type of events they’re most interested in. With all
the marketing and publicity we expect thousands of people will be
checking out the website and discovering all the different types of
screenings going on.

We’ll also be doing as much national press and marketing as we can –
feel free to share and link to this to engage your audience.

Regional marketing…

The marketing from the Scala Beyond team shouldn’t replace your
regular marketing and audience development, but by being part of a much
larger group there’ll be more opportunities for wider coverage.

Get feedback (and promote films / event?)

Gather marketing for any core programme screenings, get audience feedback (and sign them up for your future events…)

Questions, Questions…

What sort of films should I show?

Entirely up to you. Scalarama does not specify anything to do with
the actual films. All we’re asking is that you think about the context
and everything about the screening to make it special.

Is there anything that isn’t allowed?

No. Scalarama is open to all films, ideas and expressions. And it doesn’t matter whether you screen from 35mm, 16mm, Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS etc.

Does the film have to have shown at the Scala Cinema?

No. Whilst we paid tribute to the innovative programming of the
Scala last year, this time we want to shine a spotlight on the
innovative programming that takes place around the country on a
continuous basis. Whilst you can still pay tribute to the Scala’s wide
range of programming if you want to, we’d prefer to find out what
inspires you now and what you programme regularly.

How many events can I include?

Whilst there’s no limitation on how many events you can
include, each one should be a special screening with a lot of thought
given to the night to best represent your cinema / film club / society /
festival.

What if I want to do something different from my normal events? Can I suggest an event or theme of programming to you?

Of course! We are always happy to discuss larger ideas – contact us at hello@scalarama.com.
We will happily pass on your programming ideas to the rest of the
exhibitors to see if anyone else would like to get involved either
locally or nationally.

Who else will be taking part?

Scalarama grows each year, becoming more diverse and representative of the wider population - in 2015, we had 32 venues and film clubs including
everyone from venues including BFI Southbank, Prince Charles Cinema,
Riverside Studios, Rio Cinema and ICA through to filmclubs like
Filmbar70, Cigarette Burns Cinema and Midnight Movies, plus events like
Frightfest and the Nomad Travelling Cinema. We will be celebrating every
exhibitor, venue and film club – whether you’re big or small, everyone
is equal in Scala Beyond.

What about others in my area?

The idea of the season is to raise the profile of everyone
involved. If there are other venues, clubs etc. in your area, why not
see if they want to get involved too? Perhaps you could do some
cross-marketing to help each other’s event via mailing lists. We have
various Regional Partners who will be a point of contact for any other
questions, but also will be working to get a group together in their
area for potential events.

What if I want to do an event in partnership with someone else?

Great! Partnerships are often a good way of reaching a wider
audience and putting on a better event, so we’re more than happy for
partnerships. On the submission form you’ll see space where you can
list all the different partners involved.

Do I need to put on a special event?

That depends on what you mean by special. We want all the
events in the season to be well thought out in terms of the programming,
the context, the venue etc. and to really represent the best of your
night / club / society etc. Ideally all the screenings and events in
Scalarama should reflect the sort of nights that your cinema / film club
/ society / festival puts on regularly throughout the year.

How do I get my listing in my newspaper? How do I get my event on a regional flyer?

All events submitted via the Scalarama website before 13th July
will be included in the newspaper. For the regional flyers, local
partner will also be selecting the highlights for their flyer. We cannot
guarantee inclusion on the flyer for all submitted events but we will
try to include as many as possible. Get in touch with your regional
coordinators via the Scalarama Google Group.

Will you do all my promotion for me?

The aim of the season is to promote all the independent and rep
cinema screenings around the country, but the idea is that all the
Scalarama marketing and promotions are in addition to what you normally
do. We hope that you’ll be able to use the inclusion of your night(s)
in the season to get even more publicity, or perhaps you could get
together with venues in your area also taking part to get local press
interested.

Do we have to pay you? Are there any costs involved?

No. There are no costs or expenses for being involved in
Scalarama. You run your night as you normally do, paying for screening
rights, costs and expenses, and sell tickets as you normally would.
Scalarama cannot guarantee an audience for you, but will hopefully make
it easier for you to reach out to find one.

Do I need to include the Scalarama logo? Show the trailer?

Of course we would love you to include our logo and show the
season trailer but we understand sometimes it’s not possible to do so.
We will make both available to everyone involved.

If there are any other questions that aren’t answered here and that you want to know about or discuss, just drop us an email to hello@scalarama.com